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Will 'Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters' End Up Being R-Rated or PG-13?

We've been waiting to see a trailer for Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters starring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton for awhile now. Originally the film was slated to hit theaters this past March, but Paramount pushed the film back to January 2013. The move was worrisome, but now that Renner has The Avengers in his past and The Bourne Legacy this week, there's likely going to be some more eyes on the film by the time it arrivess. The question being posed now is whether or not the film will be R-rated or PG-13. Apparently the studio has been testing both versions with audiences to see which one works better. Read on!

An IMDb discussion thread (via Collider) has a couple of users breaking their non-disclosure agreements to talk about the two different cuts. One of them even saw both versions.User RickCastle Writer says:

"I can’t say a lot because of agreements with the company, Overall I will say that I really enjoyed this one. It was different, violent, pretty funny. Sort of like 'Drive Angry 3D' or 'Scott Pilgrim' humor, and I thought everyone did well. It kind of felt like they nailed the ancient humor the way ‘Your Highness’ was supposed too but didn’t.

I went to the R-Rated version, I haven’t seen an PG-13 version and I didn’t even think they were cutting it up to be that, I hope they go back to the R Version because that was one hell of a fun movie. A PG-13 version would just ruin everything."

Meanwhile a user going by "pyromaniac975" has seen both versions of the films and says:

The first one was definitely the rated R version. Good humor, good action, great fight scenes, awesome dynamic between Renner and Arterton. I loved it so much the first time, I made a group of friends go to the second screening the next week. But the next week, they had heavily edited it and turned it into a PG-13 film.

If they keep it R, it’s gonna be great. Silly, but action-y and fun. If it’s PG13, it won’t be worth it. Let’s hope it’s an R rating.

Another comment calls a cut of the film "graphic and gory" and even said they "had to look away a couple of times because it was just gross." Sounds like this film really needs an R-rating if it's going to work. However, these are only a few people giving their opinion, and since they're active on IMDb, we're betting they have a bit more of a passion for talking about movies, so there's no telling what general audiences would think. If it turns out the film will be R-rated, then I might be inclined to get excited about the film all over again. Otherwise, there might not be much fun to be had unless the humor, action and chemistry between Renner and Arterton is good without all the blood and gore. Stay tuned.